356 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



and a most excellent companion, faithful 

 and true, and ask yourself what do you 

 want more, and what breed of dog, taken 

 all round, can beat him ? 



The Airedale is not of ancient origin. 

 He was probably first heard of about the 

 year 1850. He is undoubtedly the pro- 

 duct of the Otterhound and the old black- 

 and-tan wire-haired terrier referred to in 

 this book at some length in the chapters 

 on the wire-hair Fox and the Welsh Terriers. 

 When one considers the magnificent noble- 

 ness, the great sagacity, courage, and 

 stateUness of the Otterhound, the great 

 gameness, cheek, and pertinacity of the 

 old black-and-tan wire-liair, such a cross 

 must surely produce an animal of excellent 

 type and character. It is, in fact, " all 

 Lombard Street to a halfpenny orange " 

 that there is something more than good 

 in an Airedale. 



Yorkshire, more especially that part of 

 it round and about the town of Otley, is 

 responsible for the birth of the Airedale. 



The inhabitants of the country of broad 

 acres are, and always have been, exceed- 

 ingly fond of any kind of sport — as, in- 

 deed, may also be said of their brothers of 

 the Red Rose — but if in connection with 

 that sport a dog has to be introduced, then 

 indeed are they doubly blessed, for they 

 have no compeers at the game. 



Otter-hunting was formerly much in- 

 dulged in by the people living in the dales 

 of the Aire and the Wharfe, and not only 

 were packs of Otterhounds kept, but 

 many sportsmen maintained on their own 

 account a few hounds for their personal 

 delectation. These hounds were no doubt 

 in some instances a nondescript lot, as, 

 indeed, are several of the packs hunting 

 the otter to-day, but there was unques- 

 tionably a good deal of Otterhound blood 

 in them, and some pure bred hounds were 

 also to be found. Yorkshire also has always 

 been the great home of the terrier. Fox- 

 terriers, as we now know them, had at this 

 time hardly been seen. The terrier in 

 existence then was the black-and-tan wire- 

 hair, a hardy game terrier, a great work- 

 man on land or in water. 



Whether by design or accident is not 

 known, but the fact remains that in or 

 about the year mentioned a cross took place 

 between these same hounds and terriers. 

 It was found that a handier dog was pro- 

 duced for the business for which he was 

 required, and it did not take many years to 

 populate the district with these terrier- 

 hounds, which soon came to be recognised 

 as a distinct breed. The Waterside terrier 

 was the name first vouchsafed to the new 

 variety. After this they went by the name 

 of Bingley Terriers, and eventually they 

 came to be known under their present 

 appellation. 



The specimens of the Airedale which were 

 first produced were not of very handsome 

 appearance, being what would now be 

 called bad in colour, very shaggy coated, 

 and naturally big and ugly in ear. It, of 

 course, took some time to breed the hound 

 out at all satisfactoril}' ; some authorities 

 tell us that for this purpose the common 

 fighting pit Bull-terrier and also the Irish 

 Terrier was used, the latter to a considerable 

 extent ; and whether this is correct or not 

 there is no doubt that there would also be 

 many crosses back again into the small 

 Black-and-tan terrier, primarily responsible 

 for his existence. 



In about twenty years' time, the breed 

 seems to have settled down and become 

 thoroughly recognised as a variety of the 

 terrier. It was not, however, for some ten 

 years after this that classes were given for 

 the breed at any representative show. In 

 1883 the committee of the National Show 

 at Birmingham included three classes for 

 Airedales in their schedule, which were 

 fairly well supported ; and three years 

 after this recognition was given to the 

 breed in the stud-book of the ruling 

 authority. 



From this time on the breed prospered 

 pretty well ; several very good terriers were 

 bred, the hound gradually almost dis- 

 appeared, as also did to a great extent 

 the bad-coloured ones. The best example 

 amongst the early shown dogs was un- 

 doubtedly Newbold Test, who had a long 

 and very successful career. This dog 



